IKEA's services platform TaskRabbit expands to Canada

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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Small jobs online platform TaskRabbit, which was bought last year by the word’s biggest furniture retailer IKEA Group, said on Tuesday it was expanding into Canada, its third market after the United States and Britain.

TaskRabbit, whose platform connects people with freelance handymen and other workers for tasks such as minor home repairs, deliveries and IKEA furniture assembly, said it was launching in Toronto on Tuesday and would roll out in Vancouver in October, then in Montreal in 2019.

IKEA Group, known for its flat-packed self-assembly furniture and its large out-of-town warehouse stores across around 30 markets, bought TaskRabbit as part of a strategy to boost its service offering to keep up with changing shopper habits and expectations.

“Beginning in October, TaskRabbit will also roll out in select IKEA Canada stores and online,” TaskRabbit said in a statement.

TaskRabbit is currently present in around 45 cities across the United States and Britain.

Privately held IKEA Group, the owner of most IKEA stores worldwide, is the biggest franchise taker to brand owner Inter IKEA.